Learning from Ratho – how to protect riverine forests

Baobabs are not the only species being destroyed by elephants.  Many species of trees along the Limpopo River are disappearing at an alarming rate.  Ratho, a citrus farm situated west of Pont Drift and opposite the Tuli Block of Botswana took action before it was too late.  They have used electric fencing to protect riverine forests and where the forests are too close to the river for the electric fence, welded mesh was used to protect large trees.  The welded mesh is more suitable for fast growing trees than the diamond mesh that we use for baobabs as it allows for growth of the trees under the mesh.    In addition the electric fence is erected in such a way that all other wildlife can move under and over the fence freely, but stops elephants.

I visited Ratho a few years ago and was very impressed with the effort and resources that they were putting towards protecting their riverine forests and trees.  So, in August 2024 I lead a group of park officials and honorary rangers to learn from what Ratho has done.  I can only hope that SANParks will be inspired by these farmers and dedicate appropriate resources to protecting the biodiversity in Mapungubwe National Park.

Big thanks to the Phasa Foundation for supporting our efforts to protect riverine forests and baobabs from elephant damage.